The Women’s Freedom Association ( fa, انجمن حریت نسوان),
[ بامداد، بدرالملوک، ص. ۷ تا ۹Bamdad Badramaulk ] was formed in 1907 with the discussions and plans of a number of
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
and men intellectuals of the
Constitutional Movement, and its meetings focused on the subordinate position of women in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Eliz Sanasarian
Eliz Sanasarian is an Iranian-American professor of political science at the University of Southern California. She is best known for her expertise and books on ethnic politics and feminism, particularly regarding the Middle East and Iran
...
pages. 62-63
History
During the
Iranian Constitutional Revolution
The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...
, there were many secret and semi-congressional associations in Iran. In this period of time, women's associations were secretly formed in the constitutional movement. Many years after the assembly and the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, organizations were set up that focused on
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
.
[ Janet Afariآفاری، ژانت]Eliz Sanasarian
Eliz Sanasarian is an Iranian-American professor of political science at the University of Southern California. She is best known for her expertise and books on ethnic politics and feminism, particularly regarding the Middle East and Iran
...
ساناساریان، الیز
Goals and activities
The founders of the Women’s Freedom Association wanted to familiarize women with the rules of socializing, attending the community, and to raise their confidence in speaking in the community, especially when men are at present. In this forum, both women and men were members and participated in the sessions, but in order to build confidence in women, only female members were allowed to speak at the meetings. Meetings were held secretly and no man or woman were allowed to attend the meetings alone and they had to come with one of their relatives or acquaintances.
Some of the famous members of the Women's Freedom Association were: Mirza Baji Khanum, Mrs. Navab Samii,
Sedigheh Dolatabadi, Mireh Khanum, Golin Khanum Aghgar, Eftekhar al-Saltanah, and
Taj al-Saltanah (daughters of Nasser-al-Din Shah), Afsar Saltanah, Shamsolmuluk Joyurkalam, Mrs. Hakim, Mrs. Jordan, Mrs. Dr. Ayub, Afandiyeh Khanum, and
Zandokht Shirazi
Zandokht Shirazi/ Zanddokht Shirazi ( fa, زندخت / زنددخت شیرازی; 1909 – 1953), was a prominent Iranian feminist, poet, school teacher and women's rights activist.Sanasarian, Eliz
Biography
Her birthname was Fakhrolmoluk and sh ...
(daughter of the Shaikh-al-Reyes Qajar).
Council meetings were secretly held outside Tehran in Fischarabad, at the Pertiva Flower Garden. But one day, a man who had not been allowed to attend the meeting due to his lack of familiarity with the woman, took the news of the meetings with the fanatics of the Abbasabad market and they gathered many people and rushed to the venue. The officers of the order did not do anything. Before the crowd of the fanatics reaching the congregation to the gates called Government Gates, one of the
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
students at his
photographic
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
shop, Antoine Khan, became aware and bailed to inform the members of the association with his bike. As a result, the members were dismissed at the meeting, and the Association of Women's Freedom was forced to dissolve.
See also
*
Jam'iyat-e Nesvan-e Vatankhah
Jam'iyat-e Nesvân-e Vatankhâh ( fa, جمعیت نسوان وطنخواه, meaning "Patriotic Women's League of Iran" or "Society of Patriotic Women") (1922–1933), was one of the most active organizations in the Women's rights movement in I ...
*
Women in Constitutional Revolution
*
Constitutional Revolution's Associations
Notes
References
*Janet Afari. Women's Semi-constitutions in the Constitutional Movement. Translation by Dr. Javad Yousefian. Published by Bannu Newspaper 1996 translated in 1998.,
*
Eliz Sanasarian
Eliz Sanasarian is an Iranian-American professor of political science at the University of Southern California. She is best known for her expertise and books on ethnic politics and feminism, particularly regarding the Middle East and Iran
...
. ''The Women's Rights Movements in Iran''. Praeger, New York: 1982, . (Original from the University of Michigan)
* Bamdad Badramaulk. Iranian woman from Constitutional Revolution to White Revolution. Second volume. Tehran: Ebnasina Publishing House, 1969
* *
Eliz Sanasarian
Eliz Sanasarian is an Iranian-American professor of political science at the University of Southern California. She is best known for her expertise and books on ethnic politics and feminism, particularly regarding the Middle East and Iran
...
. ''The Women's Rights Movements in Iran''.(Revolt, decline, and repression from 1901 to 1979 revolution). Translation by Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani. First print, Tehran: Published by Akhtaran, 2005.,{{ISBN, 964-7514-78-6
1907 establishments in Iran
Feminist organisations in Iran
Women's rights movement in Iran
Organizations established in 1907